Planning

[Kimberly]

Last week you shared thoughts on your teaching experiences thus far, specifically the environment. This week, comment on the planning process. What have you learned that may be helpful to others related to the planning process? Comment also on the “practice” part of planning.

[betshellhaas]

Planning comes very spontaneously with me. I enjoy creating yoga classes but I really need to let it happen organically. Sometimes I will sit down in meditation, with a stone that draws out creativity before even starting the planning process. Sometimes I will sit down and crank out 3 or 4 yoga classes at a time. I like having plenty of classes to choose from when one of my karma classes is coming up. Also, when having a variety of classes to choose from, it makes the practice part fun too. Some I have never practiced, others I have. This gives me an option for my personal practice if free flowing without structure seems difficult some days. I do not usually plan my cues, I allow that to come up organically in class. Unless there is something specific I want to focus on, I will bring that back throughout the class. I have found that I would rather have practiced the class before teaching it, however, time does not always allow that to happen. In such cases, I have studied the class before hand so I have a really good feel for it before teaching. One aspect I have been wanting to branch out in is asanas. I feel as if sometimes I get stuck using the same asanas too much. This is an area I would like to improve upon.

[regmarlew63]

When planning a class sequence, it has, from the very beginning been a real struggle for me to use the “sequencing chart” given to us in class. I am not sure why this is. So, I decided to stick to what seems to feel most natural to me. And the word “natural” seems to be key in a smoother process of laying out my class plan. I will think of my apex pose, I will look through our many sequence books and other resources like classes I have taken in studio, or online to help me out when deciding this point of the class. And from there, I will think freely about poses I have done in these sessions. I will always lean toward incorporating poses I remember really enjoying. And I realize the importance of also including the ones that are not my favorites, for whatever that reason. I start taking written and mental notes. A lot of times I will start thinking asanas out loud during road trips, or throughout my daily happenings. Then, I sit quietly on my mat. And, with these thoughts and notes in mind, I start moving. And that is when everything seems to fall better into place. More times than not, once I start moving I change things, because this is where and when I feel the fluidity, or lack there of.
Once, I get this part in a solid place….I run through it in its entirety a few times, with the planned music and time it out. Working out any new revelations that pop up. And they do. On the day before, I only read the notes and get all of my items gathered and packed up that I plan on bringing to class. So, on class day, it is much less hectic.
Regina Lewis

[sally200]

My approach to planning is morphing into how I want the future in yoga teaching to work for me. Simple, creative, and student engaging. I have been testing online sequencing programs, ad so glad tummee was mentioned. My last two classes I have used it. Makes it Simle and I can be so creative, and it also contains so much info!!

Now the student engaging piece, working on it. Probably will be looking for feedback, and will be recording sessions soon. Working on my delivery, words I choose, etc. Improved teaching skills.

Finding my teaching style what I want in this adventure is fun, mental challenge mand giving me fitness at the same time.

My approach is being able to merge teaching into my crazy schedule so I can continue teaching.

Simple, creative, and student engaging.

[msinghal]

So far, all my classes have been theme based. I used the yamas and niyamas as themes for the karma classes thus far.

First, I picked my theme. Then, I tried to find asanas that went well the theme. For example, with the theme of “aparigraha,” I used asanas that allowed me to use the concept of letting-go. With the theme of “tapas,” I went deeper into asanas that went deeper in the pose. This I did with the help of online research. After I was able to find a litany of asanas that went well with the theme, I put them together to make a flow. Finally, I added pranayama to center, and a so far I have been able to find a quote on my theme to end the class with.

I always practice cueing and doing the postures so that (1) the timing is right and (2) my cueing is making sense. I am not that spontaneous as I would like to be. The creating of the classes have been somewhat stressful for me. I am also not using any sequencing tool. I find it simpler to just imagine the poses, write down names of the asanas in the flow, then write down some language around it, and finally practice with music and a clock.

[KHuttsell]

My planning process is very yin yang.

The Yin: I carry a little green notebook with me most of the time. As I hear songs that would be great for classes I write them down. As I think of themes for classes- I write them down. If I see something great from another teacher in a class – I write it down. I collect quotes, pictures, anything that inspires me. I enjoy the novelty of being able to take an idea I want and apply it to class.

The Yang: I’m a planner who needs a framework. Once I choose a theme – let’s say I’m doing a “Fully Supported Class” – I approach the planning like a Project Manager. I determine what props I might need (lots of blocks in this case), the time I have, the level of students I could have and the environment I will be in. I ensure I address all these elements.

Then I write out a sequence that seems natural, at least on paper. I write the names of the poses only – and a few notes about poses I could add/delete if needed. I then do a dry run of the sequence so I can ensure that the flow is engaging, smooth and stays within the time constraints. I also play my music during the practice to see if it compliments the sequence.

Yin meets Yang: Although I use my framework as a guide for the class – I have found that I typically modify the sequence as I move through it. Sometimes it’s just because it seems like a modification may enhance a pose or other times because that’s what the energy of the class is telling me.

Class is a time to be creative – there is no reason one has to do exactly what they planned. In fact this freedom to “play a little bit” with class formats is what can make teaching fun.

Planning classes is probably one of my favorite parts of being a teacher!

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by KHuttsell.

[CindyHurst]

I have really enjoyed planning the sequences for my Karma Yoga classes. I’ve used both the Class Set Up / Centering Template and the Sequencing Template to provide a framework for my class plans. I use either Word or Excel for my class plans. I’ve used these tools extensively in my professional life, so I am very comfortable with both and feel they provide the flexibility I require for making modifications to the sequence plans.

I find that writing out the narrative of my class is very helpful. Although I don’t use the “script” in my actual class, I find that writing it down on paper does help me to visualize my class. I always do a dry run of my sequences to make certain that the transitions work smoothly and to practice my cueing. I also try to verify that I will fulfill my intention pertaining to what I want to pass on to my students.

The class timing continues to be a challenge for me – both in planning and in execution. No surprise since I don’t have a good sense of time as a student.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by CindyHurst.

[melross1]

I never thought I was much of a planner, until now. I sit with a pencil and notebook so I can erase and rewrite. I practice my routine and if I don’t like it or it doesn’t seem to flow, I can erase and do it again.
I have my daughter try some of the poses to make sure I’m not going crazy or making things to hard or not challenging enough.
Then I leave it alone and look at it the next day to see if I still like what I have or if I need to make changes. So far, I always make changes. Normally I find that I forgot something (core).

[lisaclick48]

I planned with my friend who was having the oils/chakra and yoga session at her home. We walked thru ideas on how to make the experience flow for all students. We figured out the key points that we wanted to share and reviewed our notes together. I took time to find poses for each chakra and practiced the cueing and the timing of each pose. We really did a great job probably based on our discussions and planning. Overall, I practiced alone for 6 hours straight to ensure I knew what I wanted to share and special points I wanted to make along with perfecting poses and the benefits of each pose too. I felt so comfortable during the session since I was so prepared. I think planning is key for me being a new yogi and guiding others thru poses and sharing information. I really slowed down when practicing and I noticed my voice was soft and it felt good. I’m a planner by nature and I felt good because I was prepared. I will plan to always spend time prior to class time to ensure I’m ready and in the right mindset to teach yogi. I do use the worksheets that Laurie provided along with pose cards and index cards for each pose.
I think I will be changing my karma yoga at the studio to Hatha Yoga for beginners since almost every person who is coming will be new to yoga. I want these peers and friends to have a great experience where they feel what I felt coming to yogi for the first time at Balancing Owl. I think this type of class might be what I focus on which is very different from my original plan of Vinyasa. Still trying to figure it out and as I plan, I think I am getting to a good spot…
I’m going to use Laurie’s chakra meditation from today (which was incredible) for the centering of my next class on the 23rd.

[Beth]

I have completed my Karma Yoga classes, but realized a hadn’t really used themes the way I’d like to in the future. I had a common theme of relaxation and de-stressing from the work day, as my Karma classes were right after work. I used an app on my iPad and I tried Tummee.com also to help plan sequences. I designed level 1 gentle classes, that included a few short flows. I did this based on my audience, which varied but also because they shared ahead of time their anxiety about yoga and I wanted to provide a class that gave them an introduction. I began each class with a breathing exercise to help center us before beginning movement. I wanted to introduce a new breathing technique each time because the overarching theme of the karma classes was how to bring relaxation and attention to the moment during the work day.

One class I taught included chair yoga because I know everyone is sitting all day and may need to practice some yoga postures while in their chairs. It was fun to teach this and I have caught some people doing this at their desks afterwards! I did not build my classes with a particular apex pose, instead I tried to only be up and down once or twice, so the classes were half seated, half standing. I found transitions more challenging than I expected but started to use my own versions of sun salutations to achieve this. I used very soft, instrumental yoga music on Spotify and found that to work about 80% of the time.

Thinking back on my teaching experience so far, I liked savasana the best, even as a teacher, because I found myself talking gently to the group, depending on the energy of the people in the room. I felt I was able to focus on this right before final pose. At times people requested hip openers or let me know about a tender area of their body, which really helped me plan or adjust. I over-planned each class by about four or five poses, and marked them as “ones to cut” if time did not allow. I still felt like I had to look down at my plan too much, so I should have practiced more at home with each sequence. On the other hand, I think it just takes time to get comfortable planning your own classes. I did stay on my mat the entire time, something I thought I would stop doing. I am hoping to get off my mat for my Karma Yoga Saturday class at BOY.

[EmilyD]

I found that the best way for me to plan out a class is in a Word outline. I can print it, run through it, time it, makes notes, and then go back and makes edits easily. I always start with a printed copy of Laurie’s class outline as it keeps me moving through the class without getting overwhelmed. I always over plan, knowing I can cut based on timing. With a group of kids that have never done yoga, I never know how far I’ll get.

So far, I have only taught 30 minute Karma classes with the KMS football team. They are indoors, which is a huge relief. A secondary challenge is that we do not have props or real mats (we use gym mats and it’s working alright). I have to be careful what I plan to do knowing I won’t have blocks or straps to help support them. And, it is hard to plan a short class – you really can’t do much! I do a short centering meditation, short warm up, 3 sun A, a small group of themed/focus area postures, and then savasana. I look forward to trying to plan a longer class, for students who have even a small exposure to yoga. I am looking forward to adding music.

My themes thus far have been very loose. I pick an area to really focus the stretch, and go from there. It’s usually about 5 poses in this section, so I’ve been trying to really get bang for my buck when I do this.

And I really enjoy the practice part of planning. I usually run through it on my own, then with my daughter. My kids are young and I feel like it’s good cuing practice to get them through it. I can see where my language needs to be clearer, what poses need more time, and what might be challenging.

[heatherfly]

I’ve only taught a few times at this point. I don’t yet know what will become of my planning process but I’ve had a couple different experiences. For the first class, at the studio, I practiced it several times. Both with cuing and without. This helped me a lot, knowing the plan in my body so I could focus on the students and the pace. This is ideal for me, nailing down the actual practice so I’m free to focus on the present moment. But I don’t imagine I’ll have that luxury most of the time – to thoroughly and deeply know the sequence without having to think about it. Also the week prior to that class it was the only yoga I did which means that method came at a somewhat higher opportunity cost than is practical to incur for one class. For the other classes I had less time available to practice and my focus was more on being sensitive to the particular population – non-experienced yogis with probable trauma. So I had in mind very particular language and planned a really basic set.

As for tools I have a notebook. I use the stick figures and draw out the sequence with some basic language cues I want to be sure to remember. I’ve not yet planned around an apex pose. I have planned with a particular experience in mind. So for the studio class it was to give a sense of rootedness and uplift. It was based on a quote. But for the Star House class the participants are inexperienced and have other concerns in mind. Meeting them where they are I planned a class to address some of the areas of the body that may need some care from all the walking they need to do in their lives. So the guiding idea was relieving tension from walking. I also decided to do two 30 min classes instead of one hour long so I could offer a section for ladies and a section for gents separately. And in each section I thought about different language and planned to spend more or less time doing one stretch vs another.

In general I need to sit down on the floor with the notebook and toggle back and forth between doing the yoga and writing it out. It is a mostly physical process for me. And when I have done it this way the plan seems to come from me physically and with ease versus mentally and with thinking and rethinking.

[LAD92761]

I am finding that I am still working on class plan process to really get it to work for me. I’m getting my yoga room reorganized as I want to build my classes in there instead of in my office. But in meantime, this is what I am using:
I built a matrix on an excel spreadsheet. It lists every asana down the side and then what the asana focuses on across the top. Then I checked each area so for example, at a glance I can scan the spreadsheet and see all the hip opener asanas. I find this is great to help me pick my poses.
Then I have a sheet focused on asana themes like hips, shoulders, core, heart opener, balance so I can think through my theme first.
As for now, I have themed all of my Karma classes in advance, this week is the last Karma class and the theme is surrender. So I will choose hip openers and heart openers with a little balance to build my sequence.
I have used Pinterest and found quotes based on my theme. I have pinned a lot and next step will begin to organize them.
My next step is to develop class type boards of some sort. I will be teaching gentle/slow flow and Pilates so I need to create a process to keep these asanas/poses separated.
Once I get my theme, asana plan, then I sit down and type out the sequence. I’m still using scripts some to help in practice. I write it out, next day pick it back up and do run through, make changes then turn into outline format. I’m working to memorize beginning, then standing, then seated so I only need to glance at sheet a couple of times.

My biggest issue is procrastination. I am working through that by starting to pre-plan classes so I can grab and Tweek.

As far as music, I now have a good feel for number of songs so I just put playlist together and tweek it while I’m driving, walking, etc.

[dooley]

When it comes to planning, look at different resources to see what I want to include in my sequencing. At the beginning I would watch videos on the different styles of yoga. This helped me understand the planning process. I also use the yoga sequencing book by Stephens to help me relate the asanas to the different areas of the body. This has helped me learn which asanas are good for hip openers, shoulders, etc.
Once I have sequencing planned out, I will incorporate that sequence into my morning practice to see how it feels and how it flowed. I will do it without music and then after practicing it several times I will add my music. I keep a notebook of all my sequences. I started this when I began my practice at home. This helps me go back and see what I have down and pick and choose poses to create how new class.

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